Political Science

We offer a unique program.

Relying upon the knowledge base about politics that the discipline of political science provides, and integrating that with the commitment of Jesuit education to social justice, the political science major takes as its central focus training of students for a life of active citizenship.

Internships in the Political Science Department

The Political Science Department offers internship opportunities to all majors. Internships are intended to be experiential learning with two major goals: enhancing the intern's specific skills (for example, research and writing ability, computer proficiency, teamwork skills, and public service) and expanding his/her areas of knowledge (for example, the law, political campaigning, child welfare services, and economic development). Placements are aligned with a student's interests, his/her academic coursework, and his/her career and/or graduate school plans.

Students can choose a 3-6 credit on-campus placement or a 12-15 credit option in Albany, NY with theNYS Senate or NYS Assembly, or in Washington, DC with the Washington Center. Local interns select from a wide range of possible placements: in the offices of law firms and district attorneys, in not-for-profit organizations and government social service agencies, for local and national legislators and party organizations. Off-campus internships cover an array of governmental and non-governmental setting: Congress, news bureaus, financial businesses, the Department of Justice, homeland security, Environmental Protection Agency, foreign embassies, lobbying organizations.

The Department's commitment is to provide a worthwhile experience that advances your college education and prepares you for your life after graduation. Please contact Dr. Bruce Shefrin, director of internship programs, for further information.

3+3 Law School Program

The “3+3” Program is an exciting opportunity for any eligible Le Moyne College student to apply during their junior year at Le Moyne to the Syracuse University College of Law or the Fordham University School of Law. If accepted, you will finish your senior year at Le Moyne as a first year law student at one of those excellent law schools, earning your Le Moyne degree upon the completion of your first year (“1L”) of law school. Not only that, but if accepted, you will be eligible for reduced tuition at both law schools during all three years of your law school career.

Mission Statement

The Department of Political Science has as its objectives not only educating students to the political concerns of society but also encouraging them to be active, engaged participants in democracy. We take seriously the Jesuit mission to educate students for the service of others. Politics should be at the heart of efforts to work for social justice.

In keeping with Le Moyne’s Jesuit heritage and our nation’s democratic creed, the faculty of the department is committed in our various courses, classes, and pedagogical methods to the following goals:

Development of critical thinking skills,

Growth in values awareness,

Development of decision-making skills,

Sensitizing students to the role of power and the pervasiveness of politics,

Development of democratic political skills and

The combined use of these skills and dispositions for future public service, whether local, state, national, or international.

Guided by this vision, we have developed a unique curriculum that:

Emphasizes small classes and active, student-centered pedagogies,

Includes courses that focus on student interests and concerns and cut across disciplinary boundaries, and